External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar announces reopening of Indian embassy in Kabul
STC NEWS MONITORING DESK
SRINAGAR, OCTOBER 10 (STC): India after closing its embassy as well as consulates in Afghanistan in August 2021, is reopening its embassy in Kabul, said External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar during a bilateral meeting today with Afghanistan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi.
The EAM’s meeting with Muttaqi in New Delhi is the first high-level diplomatic engagement between the two countries since the Taliban took power in 2021 after the withdrawal of US troops.
After the Taliban took control of the government in Afghanistan in 2021, India had closed down its embassy in Kabul. It was in 2022 that India re-established its diplomatic presence in the country by sending a technical team to Afghanistan.
Jaishankar said that India will now upgrade its technical mission in the Afghan capital of Kabul to an embassy.
Jaishankar welcomed the Afghan Foreign Minister and his delegation to India, saying the visit marked a step “in advancing” ties between both countries.
“We had opportunities to speak with each other during the Pahalgam attack and earthquakes in Afghanistan,” Jaishankar said.
The EAM said that India was “fully committed to the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of Afghanistan.”
He said that “closer cooperation” between India and Afghanistan would contribute to “regional stability and resilience.” “As a contiguous neighbour and a well-wisher of the Afghan people, India has a deep interest in your development and progress,” Jaishankar added.
Muttaqi said that India was the first country to respond during the recent earthquake in Afghanistan. “Afghanistan looks at India as a close friend. Afghanistan wants relations based on mutual respect, trade and people-to-people relations,” the Afghan Foreign Minister said.
Muttaqi is among the Afghan leaders who are under UN sanctions, which include travel bans and freezing of assets. He arrived in New Delhi Thursday after the UN Security Council’s temporary travel exemption, AP reported.
(Inputs from Agencies / Straight Talk Communications)
